shoehorned

verb

past tense of shoehorn
as in crammed
to fit (people or things) into a tight space the organizers of the county fair shoehorned the craft booths between the midway and the farm exhibits

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shoehorned While the non-prerecorded vocals were appreciated, his ballad felt oddly shoehorned into what was otherwise a vigorous, energetic halftime. — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 19 July 2026 Too often, modern technologies, like inter-device connectivity and artificial intelligence, are shoehorned into gadgets that would be more intuitive to use, affordable, accessible, and/or durable without them. — ArsTechnica, 18 May 2026 Learning cannot be condensed into an accelerated course, shoehorned into a semester calendar, rushed and prodded along. — Peter Wayne Moe, Longreads, 26 Mar. 2026 Since then, these standalone console titles have mostly disappeared, been shoehorned into an Ultimate Team mode or moved to mobile. — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 14 Mar. 2026 That bill was watered down, however, and eventually got shoehorned into the one that passed Friday. — Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 7 Mar. 2026 Kevin isn’t any more random or inexplicably shoehorned into the story than Irene or Glem. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 20 Feb. 2026 In Short’s case, the flattening is particularly egregious, because the inchoate facts of her life are shoehorned into the obsessions of amateur sleuths who continue to get those facts wrong. — Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026 Williams is being shoehorned into a rotation that’s suddenly getting more crowded, providing coach Charles Lee with a good problem in the health department for once. — Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoehorned
  1. crammed
  2. stuffed
  3. squeezed
Verb
  • That’s a dangerous prospect for any country, but especially for Singapore, crammed into a space smaller than New York City.
    — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Most of the attendees crammed along the fences, craning their necks and holding their phones aloft on their tiptoes.
    — Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of crammed
Verb
  • Runs up the middle were often stuffed at the line, at least three of Daniels’ pass attempts were batted away and three others were dropped.
    — Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • On a recent afternoon, the lanky, mustachioed Zucker, wearing a T-shirt, ballcap and small hoop earrings, bears little resemblance to his comic alter ego who sports a tattered suit with gag props stuffed in every pocket.
    — Deputy Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of stuffed
Verb
  • America’s aging farmers have been holding on to machinery for longer than usual as low crop prices and rising costs squeezed their finances.
    — Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Officials said the bears appeared to have squeezed through a 1-foot-wide opening in the concrete structure (likely seeking water during hot, humid weather) and then couldn’t get back out.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of squeezed

Browse Nearby Words

shoehorn
shoehorned
shoehorning
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Cite this Entry

“Shoehorned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoehorned. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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